Word of Life Church Podcast

To cultivate joy that is not dependent upon acquisition or events is deeply Christian.‬ It also subverts the powers who want to control everything, including our joy. The powers want to dictate when and why we can rejoice, and then sell it to us.‬ Rebel, and rejoice in the Lord!‬ This is the scandalous joy given to us by Jesus.

One of the most important stories in the history of Israel is the story of their exile in Babylon. Israel's experience with exile informs so much of the Bible that its importance cannot not be overemphasized. The story of exile is what sets up the good news of Jesus.

The life of discipleship (which is to say the Christian life) is a life of obedience to Jesus. When the church lets decisions replace discipleship, we drift into nominal Christianity.

This church and that church may come and go with the tides of time, but the Church, built upon the foundation of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, will outlast the gates of Death and endure from generation to generation.

The foundation for Christian faith is the revelation of Jesus Christ; not the Church, not the Bible. The revelation of Jesus is where our faith begins and it cannot begin anywhere else. The Church and the Bible are essential, but they are not the foundation. And both the Church and the Bible teach us this.

“The Psalms are not for those whose life is one of uninterrupted equilibrium. Such people should stay safely in the book of Proverbs.” –Walter BrueggemannIn the world of the king, in the safe confines of the palace, just reward and proper punishment are seen as a sure thing. But the Psalms see a much more complicated world. The Psalms give us a perspective from the bottom, from the outside, from the poor, from the forgotten. The Psalms give us prayers for an unpredictable world where just reward and proper punishment are not always the guaranteed outcome.

When Jesus says he’s the way, he means he’s the way to Father’s House. And what is the Father’s House? It’s the House of Love. We constantly have to choose between the House of Fear and the House of Love.

On their 40th wedding anniversary Brian and Peri Zahnd talk about a life of following Jesus together.

Have you ever said goodbye to a hero?Have you ever had to lay away your dreams?Have you ever been so lonely that a stranger is your best friend?Then you'll know what I meanSo this is our highway to heavenOur American dreamThe two fools on the road to emmausWell they might as well be you and meHave you ever been angry at your country?Have you ever been angry at your God?Have you ever been so angry that you can't see what you've got right in front of you?Have you ever been distracted by the homeless?Have you ever thrown your dollar with disgust?Have you ever thought the great commission's just too great a cost?Have you ever played the fool? -Jason Upton

When Jesus died his soul descended to hell, Hades, Sheol, the realm of the dead. But Jesus did not enter Hades as a captive, Jesus invaded Hades as a conqueror. Because Jesus is fully human, he could die and descend into Hades. But Jesus is fully God, it was impossible for Hades to hold Christ as a captive.